Special Institutional Mechanisms

Introduction: In order to safeguard the rights of citizens who are more vulnerable than others, various commissions have been constituted. Some of these commissions are as follows:

• National Commission for Scheduled Castes (The Indian constitution provides for constituting it);
• National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (The Indian constitution provides for constituting it);
• National Human Rights Commission;
• National Commission for Women;
• National Commission for Protection of Child Rights;
• National Backward Classes Commission;
• National Minorities Commission; and
• National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

Issues faced by these Commissions: 

1. Problem of Coordination and over-lapping: 

• At the national level, there exist multiple commissions. There also exists state-level Commissions to redress similar grievances.
• However, Commissions’ multiplicity could lead to overlapping jurisdictions and even duplication of efforts in dealing with complaints.
• Recommendations:  The following steps should be taken to solve the issue:

⇒ A standard format should be created for complaints made before various statutory Commissions.

⇒ An electronic database must be created prospectively by every statutory Commission, and there should be networking between each database to facilitate the comparison of data.

⇒ In smaller states, a single “multi-role” Commission might be constituted to perform all of the state’s constitutional and statutory commissions’ specialised tasks.

2. Reducing the number of complaints:

•  A sound citizen-centric governance system should ensure that large numbers of complaints do not arise.
• Recommendation: Preventative measures would also be required to eliminate cases of significant human rights abuses such as incarceration fatalities, torture, and other forms of abuse.

3. Parliamentary Oversight: 

•  These commissions are merely required to offer recommendations in their Reports, which must be presented to Parliament or State Legislatures, or both; their usefulness is contingent on the suggestions’ final execution.
•  There is a substantial time lag between submitting the reports by the Commissions and their placement before Parliament.
• Also, there is an issue of non-acceptance of several recommendations of these Commissions.
•  Recommendation: 

⇒   It is important to establish a separate Parliamentary Standing Committee to consider the Annual Reports of these Commissions.

⇒ In this approach, legislative supervision would serve to improve accountability on the one hand while also ensuring that the Commission’s proposals are implemented effectively on the other.

Process Simplification

 Simplifying Internal Procedures:  

• To assure objectivity and homogeneity, most government organisations operate under the Weberian principle of decisionmaking regulated by rules and regulations.
• These rules and regulations, often known as procedural manuals, have been developed over time, with many processes dating back to the colonial period.
• However, the statutes and regulations that regulate the manual process will not be appropriate for governing electronic procedures, which will necessitate a completely distinct legal structure and set of principles to ensure that e-governance is successful.
• Recommendations: 

⇒ Thus, there should be a roadmap, to be prepared by all Ministries/Departments, which will include modifications in rules, regulations and laws. The objective of this roadmap will be the simplification of the processes.

⇒   There should be a time limit of two years for the completion of the entire process.

Using Modern Technology:  In its Eleventh Report on e-Government, the second ARC went into great detail on this topic. Reduce red tape, delays, and inconveniences by technology interventions, such as the use of modern e-Government tools, strategies, and instruments.

Supervision: 

Meaning of Supervision:    In an organisation, supervision entails keeping an eye on and supervising the work of others.

How it is carried out? It is carried out by providing direction and guiding, defining goals, assisting with problem-solving, inspecting, checking, and verifying performance, and receiving reports, among other things.

What is the present status of supervision? Several government offices lack better supervision due to incompetence at the supervisory levels and the officers’ reluctance to supervise their subordinates’ work in the real sense of the term.

Recommendations: All officers’ supervisory roles must be reemphasized. In addition, while grading the officer’s performance in the Annual Performance Report, the officer’s subordinates’ performance should be included.